COMMUNITY ARTFORALL!

This is my Community Art gallery where you can see the range of wonderfully colourful and inspiring projects I have done in the community.Would you like to do one too? Visit About Community Art for more information. I'd love to hear from you.

oxo AFABULOUSHEART oxo

December 2015A project to design and create a mural in collaboration with members of Celtic Woman Parent's Support Group in FAB Community & Family Resource Centre, Wexford

IN OUR ELEMENT

Down By The Lake

Under The Cherryblossom Tree

August 2015 Havenview, St John's, Enniscorthy is a Residential Care Unit for fourteen men with severe to profound intellectual and physical disability and dual diagnosis of psychiatric disorder. They relocated to Havenview in 2013 when St Senan's Hospital closed down. Many of them have been in care for most of their lives and know only this place as home.

The building is a large modern development built on a greenfield site. Everything is clean and bright and new. The idea was to design and paint two murals with personal touches and marks to create a more homelike ambience for the residents, to give the men a sense of achievement and something visible to show their families and friends during visits.

During the Summer of 2015 I spent time with them and we created some beautiful artwork and two fabulous murals together!

Two collaborative artworks,MoonflowersandSunflowers,were also made to remain in the refuge centre for future residents to enjoy.

ONCE UPON A TIME ......

Summer 2014

ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY IRELANDWexford

A bookmaking project using paint, print and combined materials. The participants explored ideas and memories and expressed life experiences in their individual artist books.

CREATING OUTSIDE THE BOX !

Summer 2014

REHABCARE Wexford is a resource centre providing services for young people and adults with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities; people with various issues such as mental health difficulties, autism, acquired brain injury.

The idea for the project was to design and create a mosaic mural to enhance the industrial facade of their building and to reflect the colourful and exciting world inside. During the Summer 2014 we made a lot of paintings and drawings inspired by all the wonderful things that happen everyday in the centre. The things the like to do - planting in the garden, arts & crafts, singing and dancing, playing games, working on the computer, talking, drinking tea.... Guess what? We created designs for the craziest, zaniest teapots - inspired by Picasso and Gauguin!

The mosaics were installed on the garden wall to the front of the centre where they can enjoy the fruits of their work and show it to visitors and passers-by, engage in conversation about what they did and why .

SUMMER ART PROGRAMME

LET'S DO BATIK

Summer 2013

Artist in Prisons Scheme

Shelton Abbey on the north bank of the Avoca River near Arklow County
Wicklow, is a penal institution operated by the Irish Prison Service. In July 2013 I facilitated a fulltime art programme for two weeks with eight participants using batik as the medium. We worked on an organic theme loosely based on flora and fauna with inspiration coming from the stunning gardens and landscape surrounding Shelton Abbey as our starting point. The men went on to create fabulous artworks from more personal inspiration.

I designed the programme for participants with various levels of experience in creative practice from complete beginner to participants with some previous experience in batik and other textile dyeing processes. We used pure beeswax, paraffin wax and fibre reactive dyes on cotton and other natural fabrics.

What
a transformation! FDYS have opened a new Youth Café in New Ross which is housed in the
historically significant building from which it takes it’s name.

The
Shambles opened in July 2013 for young people to meet socially and
participate in a variety of activities and programmes. The idea of
creating a mural was to encourage young people to get involved and
take ownership of the centre. Music was chosen as a theme which
everyone could identify with. The multi-media format ie use of mosaic elements and paint proved very
popular and the mural in the courtyard area is a new focus to attract
more young people to the café. Over the Autumn and Winter months of 2013 we worked on the mural which was completed just in time for Christmas.

The project was funded by Wexford County Council Artist in the Community Scheme. We also received paint from DULUX - Let's Colour.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow!

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

August
2013.

Over the Summer I worked with members of Sanantos, an Activation
Unit with County Wexford Community Workshop (Enniscorthy) which
provides day care facilities for adults with intellectual disability and
special needs.

The idea was to
decorate the wall with a mixed-media mural to create a sense of
open space by painting a garden scene with plants, flowers, animals,
birds and insects. Elements of mosaic were used and other combined
materials. The artwork enhances this outdoor area for the participants
helping to stimulate their
imagination and encourage them to use the area for activities throughout the
year. The mural is
approximately 20 m².

The project was funded by Wexford County Council Artist in the Community scheme.

Butterflies

International Arts & Disability Weekend March 2013

Wexford Arts Centre in association with

the Arts Department of Wexford Co Co

hosted an International Conference on

Arts & Disability with groups from

Wexford, Wales and Sweden on 22nd

and 23rd March, 2013.

I was delighted to be asked to present the art workshop which involved children from Aleana House and the Windmill Therapeutic Training Unit in Wexford. Some of them brought their brothers and sisters too.

I showed them how to take rubbings of textured surfaces using wax colour and we made beautiful art using paint and wax in an exciting resist technique.

SEASONS OF FUN

Summer 2012

Ard Aoibhinn, Day Care Centre, Wexford

In
September 2012 I completed a mural project with the Activation Unit
at Ard Aoibhinn Services, Wexford.The centre provides day services
for people with intellectual disability and special needs.

The
mural is called 'Seasons of Fun' and depicts the four seasons
colourfully represented as the carriages of a train being pulled
along by an equally colourful engine. Enhancing the pre-school play
area it also helps to further stimulate the imagination and ability
of the children who use it to learn through play. The mural, which is
63' long and 6' high, was designed, drawn and painted by adult
members of the Activation Unit under my guidance.This project was
funded by Wexford County Council's Artists in the Community Scheme.
We were also lucky enough to receive paints from DULUX -Let's Color.

The wall
before.....

.......and
after

Memories of Home

Grantstown is a Day Care Centre and sheltered housing for the elderly in south Co Wexford. In this project, again funded by Wexford County Council's Artists in the Community Scheme, we explored creativity through the media of clay, paint and combined materials.The theme - Memories From Home - was chosen as it is something that everyone can identify with and proved a fruitful starting point to investigate memories at different life stages.

We remembered all sorts of things: the toys we played with; pets and farm animals; homebaking; working lives; our families; and much much more.At the same time we learned new skills using clay which were developed and honed over the twentytwo weeks of the project.